Return of the Shadows
by Veral42
Summary: Alrighty, this takes place with the same cast as the TV show plus some new faces. It's the next year, and the Shadow Riders are returning with some new faces of their own. Some romance: Jaden x Alexis & OC x someone. 34 soon.
1. Back to Duel Academy

Introductory Note: Alright, chapter 1 is finally up. So here's how it is. My plan is to write nonstop and update as much as possible. Now for a quick note. Many thanks to Seeker of the Soul for the inspiration to write this story. If you haven't done so yet, go read Rising Star to the Heavens, it's a great story. Now, since I know you're all anxious to finally get to the story, here we go.

**Chapter 1**

_Return of the Shadows: Back to Duel Academy!_

Hartford, U.S. A stereo blared music as a young, 15 year old boy slept restlessly. Slowly he woke up, not because of the metal that was blasting in the background, but mostly just because he wasn't tired. Lazy is different from tired sometimes. Flipping a switch he muted his stereo and walked downstairs. His black hair falling into his eyes he flopped down onto his sofa and flipped on the television.

The camera panned across a green island, covered in lush, green forests and rolling hills. Buildings scattered the island and a moderately large dock flanked the beachfront. Text scrolled across the screen: "Kaiba Corps. Duel Academy: Japan." Images flashed on the screen, still frames of students mid duel. More words scrolled along the bottom: "Test centers for admission will be set up in the following locations…"

The boy's eyes widened as he grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down the location of the nearest test center. After the years it first opened, many smaller branch schools had been set up world wide, but this… this was it, the original: the best. None of the branch schools could even compare to this one.

Checking the television one last time, assuring himself he had the right time, he grabbed his dueling disk and deck and sprinted from his house towards the nearest subway station.

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The exam center was a large 6 story building; filled with offices, a conference room, a written exam room, and 3 new duel arenas for practical exams.

The boy was in awe as he walked towards the building, but became thoroughly disappointed as he observed his competition. About 500 strong in total, he noted that none of them were taking hi seriously. Obviously most of them were here because they had nothing better to do.

Slowly he walked up to the front door where he was met by two people who, based on what he'd seen in the commercials, were students. They nodded to him and wished him good luck, to which he smirked and continued walking. Continuing on he entered a large waiting room and, taking a seat, began to tap his foot in impatience.

After about a half an hour of waiting, 3 students in blue uniforms walked into the room. "Thank you for your patience, please proceed down the hall on your left to receive your number and then go in the double doors on your right," everyone turned to look at the doors "and prepare for your written exam."

There was a great deal of shuffling as the candidates got into a line stretching down the length of the hall and were handed numbers. The candidates scuttled back down the hall and through the double doors into a large exam room.

The proctors wasted no time in handing out and beginning the test, instructing the would-be-students to walk up and hand in their test when they'd completed it. The boy looked at his paper and grimaced, disappointed by what he saw.

Which of the following best describes a field spell card?

…

…

…

…

And so it went on.

The first one done, 10 minuets into the test, was he. Walking up to the nearest proctor he held out his exam. The proctor, an obelisk blue student with a calm and powerful demeanor, quirked an eyebrow as he look the exam and began to look it over. The boy smirked, brushing his hair away from his eyes, reveling 2 light blue orbs. As he walked out of the room, the obelisk blue student's lips twitched into an odd smile.

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The boy was awoken by the hustle and bustle of people, all waiting for the next portion of the exam to begin: the practical exam, a duel against one of the school's teachers.

The boy and the others waited with unrest as numbers were called, each eagerly awaiting there turn. The boy stood and headed into the other room in order to watch the duels. As he entered the room he saw one of the children's life points tick away to 0, and an announcement was made over the speaker system.

"Number 47. Will candidate number 47 please report to arena 1."

The boy glanced down at his card. 47. He grinned, walking down the stairs to the arena.

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Up in the stands a group of kids, all students watched as he walked onto the field and activated his disk.

A girl in a blue uniform sighed. "Why do we have to sit here and watch these duels? Can't the teachers ever be the ones who judge these kids?"

Next to her a boy in a red uniform spoke up, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Ah, c'mon Alexis, nothing beats watching a few good duels!"

The girl shook her head. "I haven't seen a good duel since last month while we were over in England." The boy next to her rubbed the back of his head and grinned.

A boy standing behind them walked over. "Don't give up yet Alexis, this duel should be… exceptional." The other two looked at him, surprised. The boy in the red grinned again and turned back to watch the starting duel.

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The boy walked out onto the arena and activated his duel disk, sliding his deck in. Across the field from him stood a man, standing about 5'10" and 130 lbs. The man smiled at him. "Welcome, I'm Professor Miyamoto."

"Well, lets get this over with, I'm Jack De'Loon" The boy's eyes turned deadly. The proctor's smile faded, his eyes to turned dangerous.

"So, it seems that I can't take you lightly. You have good eyes… but let's see if you can back up that glare. Practical exam, begin!" (MLP:4000)(JLP:4000)

Miyamoto and De'Loon both drew 5 cards. "I'll start this off!" Miyamoto drew and surveyed his hand. "I'll start this duel off by summoning Harpy Lady (1300/1400) in attack mode!" An unattractive lady appeared on the field and spread her wings.

"Next I'll activate Pot of Greed from my hand. This allows me to draw 2 cards from my deck." He drew, now holding a total of six cards again. "To finish up I'll set to cards." Two face down cards hovered into existence behind his Harpy Lady and he nodded, indicating the end of his turn.

Jack drew and after looking at his hand he smiled. Sorry Prof. but you'll have to do better than that to stop me. First, I'll activate the magic card Heavy Storm! This card destroys all your face down cards." Miyamoto grimaced as he watched his to traps disappear.

"Next, I'll continue with a Card Destruction. Now we both discard our hands and draw cards until we have the same number we discarded." The both discarded and redrew. Jack looked at his cards and frowned and shrugged.

"Next up is my card Tribute to the Doomed. Now, by discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one card on your field." He selected a card from his hand and slid it into his graveyard as Miyamoto's Harpy Lady shattered.

"Next, I'll play my magic card Premature Burial. Now, at the small price of 800 life points I can special summon a creature from my graveyard to the field, so… I'll bring back Despair from the Dark (2800/3000)!" A hole opened in the ground and a grotesque giant shadow flew up, and towered over Miyamoto and the rest of the field. (JLP:3200)

"That's a strong monster, but don't you think that was a bit to much work to just get it out?" Miyamoto smiled. "Plus, you only have one card left in your hand."

Jack just grinned. "Well, just let me fix that. I play Hand Revival!" Miyamoto's eyes widened. "This card forces us to discard out hand and draw until we each have six cards." They drew, Miyamoto didn't look to happy about having to discard his hand again. Jack looked at his hand and grinned. "Forgive me, I'll end this duel right now."

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Up in the stands there was a murmur. The group of students talked amongst themselves. The girl looked over at the other two. "Do you think he really can finish the duel?"

The two boys just smiled and looked at the field, finally the one in blue spoke. "Yes." The boy in red was just staring out at the field, shivering.

"He can do it," The boy in red finally said "but there's something unnatural about that deck of his. It gives me the creeps." He shivered.

The boy and girl in blue just smiled and looked at the younger boy. "Relax Syrus, he can't be to strong or he would've been going to a dueling prep school." The boy in blue just shook his head and smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A drop of sweat rolled down Miyamoto's face. _'I've faced strong duelists before, but this boy… he's in a class all his own.'_ Jack just smirked and lay down a card.

"I won't need half of my deck's strength to finish this… so I'll just summon a Pyramid Turtle in attack mode (1200/1400)." A large turtle appeared on the field, his back covered by a large, Egyptian looking pyramid.

Jack pointed towards Miyamoto. "Now! Despair from the Dark, Pyramid Turtle, double direct attack!" The two monsters flew at Miyamoto, Pyramid Turtle slamming into him while Despair from the Dark swept an over sized claw at him. The force of the two impacts sent Miyamoto flying backwards and off the arena floor. (MLP:0)

The professor sat up and winced, a smile on his face. "You know," he said "you could have just gotten something stronger." He removed the pre-made exam deck and closed the duel disk.

"Well, regardless, you passed with flying colors. You can go now; we'll notify you if you were accepted." Up in the stands there was tons of whispering and murmuring as students talked amongst themselves about the duel. Jake left, hoping that he hadn't made his duel to quick.

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Jack walked through the hall and into his room, flopping down on his bed. He'd arrived in Japan about a week ago and had been going sightseeing, waiting for a representative from Duel Academy to come and deliver his boat tickets. He had just begun thinking about how many new deck styles and duel theories he'd learn when there was a knock at the door of his hotel room.

Jack walked over to the door and opened it. _'It's about time…'_ What met his gaze, however, wasn't a student. Standing at his door was a tall man, dressed in a trench coat and sporting a wide brimmed hat. Jack took a step back and the man entered the room, smirking.

"Jack De'Loon?" the strange man inquired.

Jack simply looked at the man warily, sizing the man up. The man just smirked and engaged his duel disk, an action that Jack mimicked. The sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the hall, and the sound of commotion came from down the hallway.

The strange man looked displeased by this turn of events and closed his duel disk. "That's my cue. We'll… finish this another time…" and without another word the man disappeared in a trail of smog colored smoke.

Closing his duel disk Jack wondered what that was all about, but before he could even make a move to close his door a young man in a red Duel Academy uniform ran up to his door and bent over to catch his breath. He looked up and grinned at Jack.

"Hey, you're Jack De'Loon, right?" Jack just stood there, staring at the boy with a dumbfound look on his face. The boy in red laughed. "Sorry about my entrance, certainly it lacked grace, but what the heck. Nice to meet 'cha, I'm Jaden Yuki."

Jack's ears perked up and Jaden laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I see you've heard of me…"

Jack only nodded. "I watched part of your duel against the Princeton kid last year in your school duel. You use elemental heroes, right?" Jaden nodded smiling. Jack smirked a bit and grinned back, activating his duel disk. "Well, what would you say to a duel with me?"

Jaden nodded, but remembering why he was there quickly withdrew the acceptance. "I'd love to, but… we're running a bit behind. Anyways, there'll be plenty of time for that during the boat ride over."

He motioned to Jack. "We should get going." Jack nodded and the two headed for the dock.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The docks were packed with boys and girls, returning students donning the uniforms of their respective dorms. New students donned street cloths, bags were everywhere. It was all that Jake could do to keep up with Jaden. Thankfully the Slypher Red knew where they had to go.

Jack looked around stunned at the amount of people who were there. Rushing behind Jaden the two boys finally reached a set of large doors, rimmed with gold and sparkling with a regal blue effect in the sun. Jaden looked over at the new student.

"You wanted a duel, right?" Jake could only nod, mesmerized by the magnificent doors in front of him. "Well, the arena's activated once the ship leaves, so…" Jaden was cut of and thrown off balance by a giant jolt. "… well then," the doors slowly creaked open.

Jaden smiled, looking over at Jack. "Let's roll, first duel of the year!"

With that the two duelists entered the duel arena.

End Notes: Yes, I know I said that they'd duel this time… but they didn't. Instead I took the liberty of re-introducing one of the returning shadow riders (those who've seen the show know what I'm talking about). Anyways, next time they'll duel for sure and then… **_Return of the Shadows: Duel Academy!_**


	2. Duel Academy!

Introductory Note: Alright, I told y'all that it would be up ASAP, so this is as fast as I could get it up. Not bad, if I do say so myself. This chapter was seriously a pain for me to write, mainly because I'm still focusing in on developing everyone's understanding of some of the new cards while still making the duels exciting. This was something that I failed to do with the first duel, mainly because it would help me out in the long run with this story and how I'm able to direct this new main character's (Jack De'Loon) dorm placement. So, to make it up to everyone I'm going to try to make Jack's duel with Jaden as lengthy and exciting as possible, given the two contrasting dueling styles. So then, since I'm sure you're NOT reading this to hear me ramble on, let's quickly proceed to the review responses.

**Chapter 2**

_Return of the Shadows: Duel Academy!_

Jaden and Jack faced each other from opposite sides of the dueling arena, both with grins on their face, both eager for their first dues of the school year. Activating their duel disks, Jaden's red and Jack's black, they drew. "Duel!" they both shouted. (JadLP:4000)(JLP:4000)

The stands quickly filled up quickly, eager to see the duel. Jaden drew a sixth card and glanced at his hand. After examining his options he let a smile flicker across his face. "I'll start this off by activating the magic card Pot of Greed!" A green jar appeared on his field and shattered, forming two cards that flew into his hand.

Taking note of his two new cards he pulled out one and slapped it onto his duel disk. "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode, and since he's the only card on my field I get to draw two more!" He picked up his cards and added them to his growing hand.

Jaden took another card from his hand and lay it down. "Next, I'll activate the magic card Polymerization! I've heard that you have a good offence… so; I'll fuse my Bubbleman with the Clayman from my hand in order to summon the Elemental Hero Mudball Man in defense mode (1000/3000)!" A giant creature appeared, covered in thick brown mud.

Jaden surveyed his hand some more. "After that I'll activate the field spell card Skyscraper. Now, whenever an Elemental Hero attacks a monster that has more attack points than it, it gains 1000 extra points! To finish off I'll lay two cards face down and end my turn."

Jack smiled, "That was an impressive turn… but allow me to show you something just as good. I draw!" Jack drew his card, adding it to his hand.

"I'll start off by…" he was cut off as Jaden activated a face down.

"Not so fast! I activate the card Mirage of Nightmare! This allows me to draw cards during your standby phase until I have four cards in my hand as long as I discard the same amount during my standby phase." Jaden drew one card.

"Hmm… I'll activate the continuous spell Eternal Darkness from my hand, and as long as this card in on the field I can special summon one zombie type monster from my graveyard each turn." Jaden activated his second face down card.

"I activate the trap card Dust Tornado! This card allows me to negate the activation of one spell or trap card. Plus, as an added bonus, I can set a spell or trap card from my hand." He lay one card face down.

Jack growled as the field returned to a daytime cityscape. "Fine, I activate the spell Pot of Greed." A pot identical to the one that had appeared on Jaden's field appeared and shattered, having the same effect.

"Next, I'll activate the card Graveyard in order to override your Skyscraper." The buildings that surrounded them melted down, revealing row after row of tombstones. Jack smirked. "This card lowers the star value of all zombie type monsters by 1, plus it gives zombies a 400 point attack and defense bonus. Next, I'll summon Ryu Kokki (2400/2000) from my hand." Jaden watched as Ryu Kokki's stats jumped up (2800/2400).

"Since you're Mudball Man is still a tad bit to strong for me right now I'll lay a card face down and end my turn."

Jaden drew a card and added it to his hand, signaling the start of his turn. "Now, due to the effect of my Mirage of Nightmares I have to discard cards equal to the number I drew during your standby phase." He slid a card into his graveyard and grinned.

Jack looked at Jaden like he was crazy. "Now that Elemental Hero Necroshade is in my graveyard I activate his ability, allowing me to summon any card with Elemental Hero in its name from my hand, and I have just the one in mind, Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800), in attack mode!"

Jaden looked over his hand and sighed. "I'll lay one card face down and end my turn."

Jake smirked, "I draw!" he yelled as he pulled off the top card from his deck and added it to his hand.

Jaden smiled. Now, due to Mirage of Nightmares, I draw until I have 4 cards in my hand!" he drew two cards. "Next, I activate Emergency Provisions and sacrifice my Mirage of Nightmare in order to gain 1000 life points!" (JadLP:5000)

Jake didn't look bothered "Now, if you're all done I'll activate a second Pot of Greed from my hand in order to draw to cards." 2 cards appeared in his hand "and I'll follow that up with a Polymerization in order to fuse the Ryu Kokki on my field with the Pyramid Turtle in my hand so I can summon my Pyramid of the Skull (0/3500) in defense mode… though he won't be around for long. I now activate my face down card, Torrential Tribute. Now, since I've summoned a monster, I'm able to activate this in order to destroy all monsters on the field" The monsters on the field all shattered with a crashing sound.

"Now, let's see if we can't drain those life points a bit. I summon Ether Magician in attack mode and due to Graveyard its points all rise (2100/1500)!" A slender transparent man appeared, dressed in plain black robes. "Next, I follow-up with my magic card Hand Revival. Because of this, we discard our hands and draw until we each have 6."

"Now, allow me to activate the ability of my Ether Magician. For every card in my hand that I discard, you're forced to randomly discard one card. I'll discard 2 cards." Jack slid the cards into his graveyard and Jaden gave a cry as two of his cards followed suit.

"Now, Ether Magician, direct attack!" Chains of lightning flew from the magician's hand, smashing into Jaden and forcing him back slightly. Jack smirked, but a shocked expression came to his face as the smoke cleared to reveal Jaden untouched. "What have you done?"

"I activated my trap card, Draining Shield. This negates the attack of one of your monsters and increases my life points by the same amount." (JadLP:7100) Jack grimaced, looking at Jaden's life points.

"Fine, that's fine. I'll lay one card face down and end my turn." A card appeared behind Jacks Ether Magician.

Jaden smiled, adding one card to his hand. "First, I activate the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive. This card allows me to special summon one warrior type monster from my graveyard to play, and I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" The stout warrior appeared on the field, adjusting his arm gun. "Also, since he was my only card on the field when he was summoned I can activate his ability, allowing me to draw 2 cards." He pulled the top 2 cards off his deck and added them to his hand.

"Alright, for now that's all I can really do. So… I set two cards face down and end my turn."

"Fine, I draw my card." As he registered what he'd drawn his eves lit up. "Sorry Jaden, but there's no way I'm going to lose this duel. Let me introduce you to my decks true power!"

"First, I activate the spell card Summoning Spell – Protector of the Night!" Thick grey smog rolled across the field until Jaden could barely see Jack. He shivered unconsciously, but Jack continued un-phased. "As a side effect to this card all monsters on my field are destroyed, but this card allows me to special summon Guardian Mummy (2500/2000) from my hand or deck!"

A card popped from his deck and he slapped it down onto his disk. The fog slowly condensed and faded, revealing a horrid mummy, its bandages decaying. "And because of the graveyard that's in play his stats are increased even more (2900/2400)."

Jaden grimaced, seeing the high stats of the creature, but after a quick glance at his hand and field regained his composure… however Jack wasn't finished. "Now, since Guardian Mummy's on the field I can activate my next card! At the cost of sacrificing my Guardian Mummy I can now activate this card, Summoning Spell – Master of Undeath!" Fog covered the field again, only this time the fog had a dangerous purple tint to it.

His Guardian Mummy shattered as the fog touched it. "Now, from my hand or deck (a card popped from his deck and he lay it), I can summon my Ether Lich (2500/2500) in attack mode, now his stats increase (2900/2900)." The fog parted with a gust of wind, revealing a crowned figure, clad in black robes trimmed in a blood red. His face was not that of a man, but of a desolate skeleton, the only sign of life was the red glint in it's eye.

Jack pointed his hand in Jaden's direction. "Now, Ether Lich, attack Bubbleman!" An orb of condensed lightening flew at Jaden, and before he could react it hit his Bubbleman head on, the remainder of the force smashing into Jaden and forcing him backwards (JadLP:5000).

Jaden quickly recovered, pressing two buttons on his duel disk. "First, I activate the trap card Hero Signal. Don't think that Bubbleman was my whole act! Now, Hero Signal can only be activated when an Elemental Hero is destroyed, but it lets me search for and special summon one from my deck. Now, I summon Avian (1000/1000) in defense mode and chain to my next face down, another Hero Signal. Now, come on out Burstinatrix (1200/800)!"

The two heroes leapt onto the field, crouching into defensive stances. "Fine, I'm done… for now. Just don't think that those two can protect you forever."

"I don't. Now, I draw and play my second Polymerization in order to fuse my Avian and Burstinatrix in order to for the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!" A giant dragon-esque monster appeared on the field.

Jack glanced at it, but didn't seem worried at all. He's strong, I'll grant you that… but he's not strong enough to take out my Ether Lich." Jaden smiled.

"No, he isn't. That's why I play my next card… Miracle Fusion! Now, by removing my Flame Wingman on my field and the Sparkman from my hand from play I can fuse them together in order to summon the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100)!"

"Stronger, yes. But he's still not good enough!" Jack had a triumphant look on is face, but Jaden just shook his head.

"Yes he is… or… will be. I activate his ability. Now Shining Flare Wingman gains 300 attack points for every elemental hero card in my graveyard! And since there are six in my grave: Bladedge, Burstinatrix, Avian, Necroshade, Bubbleman, and Clayman; I increase his attack by 1800 points!" Shining Flare Wingman's stat's skyrocketed and Jack cringed looking at them (4300/2100).

"Now, Shining Flare Wingman, attack Jack's Ether Lich!" A bolt of light shot for Ether Lich, but the card behind it shot up.

"Grr… I activate my trap, Negate Attack! This card cancels the attack on one monster on your field and ends your battle phase." Jaden sighed, disappointed that his victory attack had been halted.

"Well, that's all for now then. I end my turn." Jack drew, looking over his hand franticly. Finding what he was looking for he lay a card down onto his duel disk.

"I activate the spell Premature Burial, allowing me to special summon a creature in my graveyard in return for the price of 800 life points (JLP:3200). Now, I summon my Guardian Mummy in attack mode, plus it gets its attack point bonus (2900/2400)."

"Now, I chose to activate the final effect of Graveyard. When I special summon a zombie type monster from my graveyard, I can remove Graveyard from play in order to activate a spell card in my graveyard, though at the end of my turn that spell card is also removed from play."

Now, I activate Polymerization from my graveyard in order to fuse my Guardian Mummy with the Ether Magician in my hand in order to create my ultimate monster, Ether Mummy – Guardian of the Lich (3500/0). Now, I activate his first ability. If I remove an Ether Lich on my side of the field from play he gains 1000 attack points, so I remove mine from play!" Ether Mummy's stats rose (4500/0).

"Now I activate his second ability. It's much like your Shining Flare Wingman's ability, but only now he gains 400 attack points for each monster with Ether in its name that's in my graveyard or removed from play. And since there are three he gains 1200 more attack points (5700/0)."

"Now, Ether Mummy – Guardian of the Lich, attack Jaden's Shining Flare Wingman!" Jaden braced himself as the transparent mummy pounded into his Elemental Hero, the remaining force pushed him back even further than the last (JadLP:3600)."

"Don't get comfortable! I activate the ability of my Pyramid of the Skull! Now, if I've summoned a Pyramid of the Skull, for the remainder of the duel I can remove a Pyramid Turtle in my graveyard from the game and deal you direct damage equal to ½ the total attack points of the monsters on my field." A card slid from his graveyard and he put it into his pocket as a skull launched from his disk, ripping through Jaden (JadLP:750).

"Now, I activate the spell Card Destruction." They discarded and drew and Jack grimaced. "Fine, I activate Hand Revival." Again they both discarded and drew, however now Jack looked happier.

"I end my turn, but since Ether Mummy's first ability only lasts one turn his attack decreases by 1000 points (4700/0)."

Jaden smiled. "You did well, but now it's over. I activate The Warrior Returning Alive in order to summon Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100) in attack mode!" Jack smirked and shook his head.

"Haven't we been through this already?" Jaden just smiled and motioned to his graveyard.

"Actually, this duel is about to end. See, when you activated your two hand destruction cards, you unintentionally increased the power of my Shining Flare Wingman! You made me discard two more Elemental Heroes!" Two cards flipped up, revealing Jaden's second Burstinatrix and his second Clayman.

"Now, I activate Shining Flare Wingman's ability, not with eight heroes in my graveyards! (4800/2100)" Jack sighed. "Now, attack Ether Mummy with your Light Burst Attack!" Suddenly there was an explosion of light right at the feet of Ether Mummy, throwing its shattering pieces back into Jack (JLP:3100).

Jack prepared for his turn, but Jaden interrupted his planning. "Don't get to comfortable, that was the last attack of this duel!" Jack started, just as Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman landed in front of him, his arm raised.

"Whenever Shining Flare Wingman destroys a monster in combat I can deal damage to your life points equal to the attack of the destroyed monster!" Shining Flare Wingman shot, blasting Jack off the back of arena. Jaden made his victory sign.

"And that's Game!"

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Jack winced as he stood up and closed his duel disk, but looked up at the audience burst into a standing ovation. Suddenly, a group of students rushed out onto the arena stage and surrounded Jaden as he walked over towards Jack.

"Hahaha, thanks Scyrus." A girl in a blue uniform rushed over to where Jaden and Jack were sitting.

Jaden winked at the girl, causing her to blush a bit. "So, what did you think Alexis?" The girl blushed further and just smiled. Jaden laughed, grinning like an idiot.

The girl finally got control of herself and smiled, shaking her head. "I think your duel took way to long, though it was exciting…" Jaden and Jack looked at her in confusion and she laughed, pointing at a window. "See? We've already arrived at the island!"

Jack and Jaden both grinned and laughed. "Sorry Alexis, I guess we got a bit carried away there." Jack just looked up at the island, at the lush forests and the tall mountains.

'_Finally… I'm finally here…'_ He couldn't wait for the year to finally start up.

End Notes: Well, there's chapter two for you, hope you liked it. I'm hoping to be able to create a ton of other exciting duels for you all to enjoy. The only thing is that I'm not familiar with all the different deck types out there. So please R&R, let me know what you think, and if you have a deck style or character style suggestion let me know. I'll try to incorporate everything you guys tell me. So let me know!

_Next time: Jack gets his dorm assignment and starts the school year of with a bang. Meanwhile, the Shadow Riders meet once again, preparing their second war against the Duel Academy… but what's their target… and what could they want from Kaiba Corp's ship? Next time in **Return of the Shadows: Preparing for the Second War – Kaiba v.s. Nightmare** _

Ok… for my own sanity I've blocked and will block users who complain about aspects w/o a GOOD reason. If need be I'll also block non-signed reviews as well. Sorry for the inconvenience. PLEASE R&R WITH YOUR SUGGESTIONS! Also, if you want a copy of deck lists just e-mail me.


	3. Preparing for the Second War – Kaiba vs

Introductory Notes: So, this is chapter 3. I've waited a couple of days before posting, giving people a chance to review… but nobody did (more or less and thanks to those that did). Before I respond to reviews there's an IMPORTANT ANOUNCEMENT that I need to make.

**!IMPORTANT!** The author of this fic is QUICKLY running out of deck strategy ideas for characters to use. So PLEASE r&r, SUBMIT DECK STRATAGIES to me, ALONG WITH A COUPLE OF THE KEY CARDS FOR THE DECK. After that, I can find cards to support. **!IMPORTANT!**

Cheesywonder221: I'm glad that you find my writing so compelling and I hope that you enjoy the rest of my story.

DoggyDog13: Well, here ya are DoggyDog, the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it as much as the other two.

Dbygtfan2004: Hahaha, well I'd have to agree with you, they do make a cute couple. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Seeker of the Soul: Thanks a ton for your input on my story. I'll admit, that "negate" might not have been the best choice of words in regards to Dust Tornado. The only reason I chose "negate" was because, since a chain resolves in reverse, it has the same effect as a negation. I look forward to more of your input.

Also, I've heard speak of a season two for Yu-Gi-Oh GX… if anyone has information on when it's going to come out on Cartoon Network let me know… Thanks for your help, and on with the story.

**Chapter 3**

_Return of the Shadows: Preparing for the Second War – Kaiba v.s. Nightmare_

Another guard fell, rolling into a cabin as the ship rocked violently. The entire vessel was in chaos. Everywhere, Kaiba Corp guards dueled against the twelve robe clad figures that had invaded their vessel.

From the captain's cabin Seto Kaiba sighed, rubbing his head. "Damnit… do I have to do everything myself?" and without another word he picked up his deck and slid it into his disk, walking from the room.

The dark duelists moved swiftly, taking out the guards that intercepted them with little to no effort. They quickly entered the storage hold and smirked as they located their target, a large metallic device with a grey gas stored in the center chamber, held in an oversized radioactive containment net.

The 12 duelists moved quickly and expertly, encircling the device and chanting. Slowly but surely their efforts were rewarded. A thick purple fog covered the area in which they were standing. It was now that Seto Kaiba barged into the room, his eyes narrowed in a death glare only comparable to that of a murderer out for fresh blood.

Quickly the invaders hastened their chanting the purple glow quickly growing. Then, abruptly, one of the men stepped from the circle and in a brilliant flash the strange device and the other robed men were gone.

The man who had stepped apart pulled down his hood, his eyes fixated on Kaiba, a scowl on his face. "Well, at least you couldn't stop us this time… and you'll regret missing your chance… however short your time is now."

Kaiba just stared back at the man. He was short, or… at least he was shorter than Kaiba. He was bald, and his head was tattooed with odd markings. These markings, oddly enough, were growing.

"Do I… should I know you?" Kaiba's expression hadn't changed.

The man growled, obviously annoyed that Kaiba didn't seem to recognize him. "Yes! I worked for you, damnit!" Kaiba's face remained the same as before… something he'd gotten good at… all emotionless like.

"You'd just appointed me the First Lieutenant of Kaiba Corp's Prevention Department in the U.S… but then you had me transferred before our little group was able to finish our work on that shadow amp."

He motioned to where the others had been moments before. "The next thing we know the department's found and confiscated our device. It made me look bad, made me look careless."

The man snickered. "So, I used my new rank to locate where and when you were shipping it and informed the others. We just figured we'd come and take it off your hands… now it's time I thanked you for moving it closer to our destination. Honestly, it made things a lot easier for us."

The man held up his arm and activated his duel disk, sliding his deck in. "So how about I thank you for your help personally?"

Kaiba shook his head. "This is why nobodies like you annoy me…" his eyes lit up again, the same unnatural fire as before. "You don't know your place." He snarled, and the other man took a step back.

"Humph… such confidence… but you can't stop our return, the return of the Shadow Riders! Please, let me formally introduce myself… I am called Nightmare. Now, allow me to show you why my victims call me 'their worst'. Duel!" (KLP:4000)(NLP:4000)

They both drew their hands, and Kaiba drew a sixth. "I'll start this off. Please, offer at least a little bit of resistance for me. I summon Cave Dragon (2000/300) in attack mode!" The ground began to tremble, and it suddenly split. From the darkness, two red eyes began to glow."

"He can't attack you right now… but very soon you'll feel the wrath of my deck. So, with that in mind, I play the magic card Mountain. When in play, all dragon, thunder, and winged-beast monsters in play increases their attack and defense by 300 points." (2300/600)

"I lay one face down card and end my turn."

Nightmare scoffed, drawing his card. "Don't get to full of yourself, for I already have you beaten! Kaiba, do you know your deck's main weakness?"

Kaiba stared at the man across from him. "My deck is flawless, and no roach like you has a prayer of beating me!" Nightmare just shook his head and laughed.

"No, no… it's that you're to strong! You rely too much on the strength of your monsters… now; I'll set one creature in defense mode and activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon. This magic card destroys one spell or trap card on the field." Kaiba's face down shattered.

Looking over the field he smiled. "Well, I'm done. Go ahead."

"Hmph… how pathetic." Kaiba drew his card and slammed it down onto his disk. "Well, Cave Dragon has gone stale to me now… so I'll use the ritual card White Dragon Ritual. Now, by sacrificing my Cave Dragon, I can summon the Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200)."

Nightmare smiled, already aware of Kaiba's next move. "Now I activate its effect. By sacrificing the Paladin of White Dragon I can summon one of my Blue Eyes White Dragons into play from my deck or hand!"

The card popped out of his deck and he slammed it onto his disk. "Blue eyes White Dragon, come forth and crush his face down monster! (3300/2800)" Kaiba's main-stage monster descended onto the field and immediately shattered the face down monster with its tail.

Nightmare gave Kaiba a twisted grin, revealing the card that had been destroyed. "You've destroyed my UFO Turtle, activating his effect. Now I can special summon one pyro type monster from my deck with an attack of 1500 or less… so I'll summon my Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)." The creature entered onto the field in an eruption of fire.

"Fine… go."

"Hahaha… you'll be helpless after this turn! I draw and summon a second Solar Flare Dragon to the field (1500/1000)." Kaiba scoffed at the man's confidence.

"Pathetic… putting all of your faith on two weak creatures. I'll crush them with the power of my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Nightmare shook his finger at Kaiba. "Don't get two confident yet Kaiba. I activate the magic card Dark Room of Nightmare." A dark missed swelled around them and statues representing a number of unfamiliar gods rose from the ground, encasing the darkened arena in a damp red glow.

"Hehehe, I'm done for now." Kaiba went to draw his card, but quickly pulled his hand back as a blast of fire smashed into his face, knocking him to the ground.

Nightmare laughed as Kaiba struggled to his feet. "Oh, did I forget to mention the effect of my Solar Flare Dragon? At the end of each of my turns it deals you 500 points of direct damage!"

Kaiba got back onto his feet, but staggered backwards almost immediately as beams of red light shot from the bases of the God statues. "What the…!"

Nightmare snickered. "Every time you take direct damage, Dark Room of Nightmare deals you an extra 300 damage!" Kaiba watched as his life points drained (KLP:3200). "Now get ready, here comes round 2!"

Kaiba staggered back yet again as another fire blast hit him square in the chest, but managed to balance himself before the beam of light pierced his chest. (KLP:2400)

He slowly got to his feet, a growl escaping him and his eyes dripping with enough death that Nightmare visibly shook. _'I can't let those stay, or else they'll drain my life points away in two more turns…'_

"Fine, I'll draw," he drew his card "Now prepare yourself for the coming of my second Blue Eyes White Dragon! I'm sure this card is familiar to you, no?" He lay down another White Dragon Ritual.

"Now, by sacrificing a Mirage Dragon from my hand I can summon my Paladin of White Dragon!" Kaiba's Paladin of White Dragon flew onto the field in the same swooping fashion as the last, his blue armor glinting as his spear shone.

"Now, as before I'll tribute him in order to summon a Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck." The card popped out and he lay it onto his duel disk. The Blue Eyes White Dragon roared onto the field next to his other, showing off his spotless scales.

Nightmare laughed and pointed to Kaiba. "It appears your monster's personality reflects your own, vain." Kaiba only glared at him, making a gesture with his hand.

"Blue Eyes Whit Dragons, teach Nightmare what the strength of a true dragon is… attack his Solar Flare Dragons!" The Blue Eyes Whit Dragons reared their heads and shot balls of raw power. To Kaiba's surprise, however, both of the balls swept around the Solar Flare Dragons as well as Nightmare.

"What the… what the hell did you do?" Kaiba tried to keep the strain from his voice, but was even more shocked when he fell to his knees, struggling to catch his breath. "What in… what's going on here?"

Nightmare just smiled, pointing to his Solar Flare Dragons. "To answer your first question, whenever my Solar Flare Dragons are in play, and there's another pyro type monster on my field, it can't be targeted for attacks!"

Kaiba grimaced, realizing that he'd just wasted one of his turns. _'And at the rate this is going I don't have the luxury of wasting turns'_

"Now…" Nightmare held up his arm and pointed at Kaiba. "To answer your second question, I believe that this will be sufficient!" Slender rods of fog erupted from his arm, connecting together behind Kaiba. Slowly the needle like threads thickened, finally encasing the two of them in a dome of darkness.

Kaiba's eyes widened slightly. "I guess it should… it's your turn."

Nightmare smiled and picked up his card, examining it closely. Finally, deciding upon his move, he began.

"Well, since there isn't any way to get out a stronger monster than you right now I think I'll lay one card face down and end my turn, and since it's my end phase the effects of my Solar Flare Dragons activate!" (KLP:800)

Kaiba was pushed backwards as the dual fireballs struck him, and winced as beams of red pierced through him as needles would an acupuncture doll. Pulling himself together Kaiba drew his card, smiling when he saw what it was.

"This duel is mine! I activate the spell Snatch Steal. Now I can equip it to one of your monsters in order to take control of it. Ordinarily you'd gain 1000 life points every one of your standby phases that this card is in play but you won't get the chance! I take control of one of your Solar Flare Dragons."

Nightmare's eyes widened as he realized what Kaiba was planning, his eyes flitting to his face down card.

"Now, Solar Flare Dragon, attack Solar Flare Dragon!" The flaming dragons both shot waves of fire, obliterating each other. The Snatch Steal spell card also shattered.

Nightmare quickly pressed a button on his duel disk, activating his face down card. "That was the last mistake you'll have the chance to make. I activate my face down card, Backfire! Now whenever a fire type monster on my field is destroyed you take 500 points of direct damage!"

Kaiba's eyes widened as a wall of fire shot at him, burning as it passed around him. (KLP: 300)

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I still have life points left, and now you're…" He was cut off as beams of red light pierced his body, forcing him to his knees. (KLP:0)

"What?"

Nightmare put a hand to his face and howled in laughter. "Didn't I tell you that the damage caused by Backfire was direct damage? The effect of Backfire activated Dark Room of Nightmare's effect… you lose."

Nightmare reached into a bag on the ground next to him and, pulling out an old tome, flipped through it until he found a blank page. "We'd had someone at your precious Duel Academy last year, and this book was his. But he was too soft and lost… I won't let this tool go to waste."

Kaiba could only watch as the book was engulfed by a strange purple aura. Slowly the aura extended out and covered his body, holding him still no matter how much he struggled. "Seto Kaiba… for losing this duel your soul will be my prize!"

Kaiba's limp form fell as the dark aura left his body, returning to the book that had spawned it. It was at this same time that the remainder of the guards entered the room. Nightmare looked at them, then sighed.

"Well… I can't beat all of them. I used up to much energy during that last duel. So… I think I'll take my leave now." Dark shadow aura suddenly burst into a whirlwind around his body and so great was the resulting force that it blew the guards back to the wall.

Then, as suddenly as the eruption of power had begun, it was gone… as was Nightmare.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the boat pulled up to the dock, the students on board noticed the faculty that had remained already assembled around another boat, even larger than the one that they were aboard.

Jaden glanced at Alexis and Jack. "Uhh… are their more students arriving on that ship?"

Alexis shook her head, confused by the circumstances. "No, there shouldn't be. This is my third year here and there's never been more than on ship. The dock can't handle any more."

As she spoke, Dorothy's truck came barreling down the hill and screeched to a halt in front of the docks, a small red light flashing on its roof.

Jack's eyes narrowed as he noticed the red light. "Then, an emergence landing maybe… probably of relative importance, noting whose ship it is." Jaden and Alexis glanced over and saw what Jack was talking about. The side of the ship read _'Kaiba Corp: Prevention Transport'_.

Almost an hour passed, but just as the students began to get anxious Dorothy's truck sped back up the hill and the Kaiba Corp ship quickly departed toward shore. The ship carrying the Duel Academy students landed, and the students departed ship. They were greeted by Chancellor Sheppard and Dr. Crowler. Dr. Crowler stepped forward.

"We are sorry for the short delay," there was muttering in the crowd, but it was silenced by Crowler's glare "however, due to a message, sent to us by the Kaiba Corp Prevention Squad ship that was here just a moment ago…" he began to trail off and the Chancellor stepped in to finish his sentence for him.

"Due to the message, Duel Academy will be undergoing a _mass dorm re-assignment_. We are sorry for the trouble this may cause, but all students must report to the school's dueling arena immediately. Be prepared to duel, for this re-assignment will only be effected by your skill as a duelist. Entrance exam scores and grades during previous years will not be taken into account."

A mummer rushed through the crowd, everyone was excited at the opportunity this created for them. They were all hoping to be placed into Obelisk Blue.

It was at this time that chancellor Sheppard stepped up again. "As a side effect of this re-assignment, all first week classes will be canceled. Now, to finish up here, I need the following students to see me in my office immediately: Jaden Yuki, Alexis Rhodes, Chazz Princeton, and Bastion Misawa. Now, everybody please report to the Dueling Arena."

Jack watched as Jaden, Alexis, and the other students who'd been called walked off towards the main building. Finally, turning around, he began to walk towards the building that housed the academy's dueling arena.

He stopped, however, when something in the forest caught his eye. He turned and found himself face to face with them same man who had met him at the hotel. The man only stared back at him, causing Jack to shiver. The man only smirked at Jack, and dissapered in a silent crack of dark smoke.

Jack quickly headed over to the nearest teacher. "Um… excuse me, sir? I was wondering who that man over there is?" He pointed over towards the forest, but started when he found the man no longer there.

Dr. Crowler didn't seem impressed. "Listen here young man…"

"No, honestly sir. He was just there. He was a semi-muscular man about the same height that you are. Honest." Jack wished the teacher would believe him.

"Oh, well, what a big help. Anything else?" Crowler leered at the Jack.

"Um…" Jack thought franticly, then remembered something that might help him out. "Yes! He had on a metallic looking mask that covered his face, and it cut off at his wide-brimmed hat. He didn't have the hat on now, but I remember it from when he came into my hotel room earlier!"

Dr. Crowler stopped and turned away, white as a sheet. _'Damint… this is going to be such a hassle for me… I hope he's not here after his payment…'_

"Boy, you said that he visited you in your hotel room, correct?"

"Yes sir, and,"

"Do you know what he wanted from you?"

"Well, no, but…"

"That's fine. Come with me, I need you to tell the Chancellor about this man."

With that jack and Dr. Crowler rushed up towards Chancellor Sheppard's office.

End Notes: Well, that's chapter 3. The shadow riders are on the island and there's a mass re-assignment for dorms…but what's going on? …Sorry, but I can't answer that yet since I'm not positive yet myself, and if I could tell you I wouldn't anyways. It'd spoil the story. Also, sorry again for the wait. I tend to procrastinate a bit, plus the duels take me a while to choreograph on paper then transfer over… that and creating the decks is a pain.

_Next time: After the events of last year, Chancellor Sheppard hid the Sacred Beast gate keys, permanently. But when they're found to be missing, the search is on… but what happens when Jack runs into Titan? **Return of the Shadows: Jack v.s. Titan: End of the Sacred Beasts**. _


End file.
